Over the course of June, we at Windy City Gridiron are running the 30 Day Challenge, where every single day, someone on our staff tells a story relating to their fandom of the Chicago Bears. We’ll be sharing memories of players and coaches that we either loved or hated, specific games or plays that stick with us all these years later, personal ties to the organization, and much more.
Today, it’s my turn to dig into the question: who is my favorite Bears tight end of all time?
I’ve been with Windy City
Gridiron for 9 years now, with Mitchell Trubisky’s rookie year being my first year covering the Bears on this site. Despite that, it’s worth noting that I’m only 25 years old. If my math is correct, that means Lester hired me when I was 5 years old. Wow, how the time flies.
I bring this up to say that I might not have as extensive of a personal tie to tight ends of yesteryear. I’ve come to appreciate the legend of Mike Ditka, the reliability of Emery Moorehead, and the steadiness of Ryan Wetnight (not to be mistaken for the frequent WCG commenter). That said, I don’t have any experience watching those guys live, so my emotional attachment isn’t as strong.
There are many Bears tight ends I considered here. Desmond Clark was the team’s tight end when I first fell in love with football in 2006. Martellus Bennett had a short but dynamic stint in Chicago. Cole Kmet has been a consistent contributor since he came into the NFL, and Colston Loveland might be well on his way to being the most productive tight end in team history.
When I started this article, I was originally going to pick Greg Olsen. I was enamored by his athleticism and pass-catching abilities as a kid, and in a time when the Bears didn’t have many weapons on offense, his star potential stood out like a sore thumb. In the slight overlap he had with Jay Cutler, Olsen was their best pass-catcher. Plus, he was always a topic of conversation at home because my mom thought he was attractive (sorry to air out your dirty laundry, Mom).
It’s a shame that Mike Martz exiled him out of Chicago in 2011 because he was perceived as a poor scheme fit. Olsen went on to reach Pro Bowl heights with the Panthers, while Martz never coached in the NFL after that 2011 season. Serves him right.
In the end, though, I had to go with Zach Miller as my choice for my favorite Bears tight end of all time. Not the best, or even the most talented, but my favorite.
He’s an incredible outlier whose football journey is second to none. He was a Division II quarterback at Nebraska-Omaha who got converted to tight end in the NFL when the Jaguars drafted him in 2009. Though he showed encouraging flashes in his first two seasons, he dislocated his shoulder early in 2011 and only played in four games.
Miller’s run-in with injury would not be his last. He tore his calf and Achilles tendon in the 2012 preseason, causing him to miss the entire year. He signed with the Buccaneers in 2013, but he suffered a concussion in the preseason and didn’t make the team. After sitting in free agency that whole regular season, the Bears brought him in on a futures contract.
Things were looking up for Miller briefly in the 2014 preseason, as he caught two touchdown passes in a preseason game against the Eagles. However, injuries yet again took a toll on him, as a Lisfranc injury caught him to miss all of that regular season.
For those keeping up at home, that’s four seasons in a row with season-ending injuries for Miller, as well as three seasons in which he didn’t play a single snap in the regular season. While a lot of NFL players would have considered retirement long before that point, Miller kept on going.
Miller’s hard work paid off, as he made the Bears’ 53-man roster in 2015. His Week 1 appearance saw his only target go incomplete, but it also marked his first NFL regular season action in four years. He started off the year slowly, but he exploded onto the scene with a game-winning, one-handed touchdown for the Bears to secure a victory over the then-San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football.
From there, Miller became a more common fixture in Chicago’s passing attack. He caught five passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns against the then-St. Louis Rams the following week, and he’d surpass 45 receiving yards in four of the remaining six games to close out the season from there.
Miller kept up that momentum in 2016, as he finished with 47 catches for 486 yards and four touchdowns, the former two of which ending up as career-highs for him. He went down with a broken foot in Week 11, but he led the Bears in receptions and touchdowns at the time of his season-ending injury.
In 2017, Miller was involved in Trubisky’s first career touchdown pass, as well as a beautiful two-point conversion to tie up the game against the Vikings on Monday Night Football. He remained productive throughout the year before a horrific injury suffered against the Saints ended not only his season, but unfortunately, his career.
Miller dislocated his knee and tore his popliteal artery laying out for a touchdown catch, which put his leg at risk of amputation. He was in the hospital for three weeks after the injury, and though he remained under contract with the Bears through 2018, he would never play a down of football again. To add a cherry of trash on top of the garbage cake, the referees called the pass incomplete, only for the NFL to change the rules the following year in a manner that would’ve seen that play called a touchdown in retrospect.
Although Miller’s story on the field ended negatively, his courage and tenacity is something that always inspired me, even before his career-ending injury. To go through so much adversity and physical trauma, only to keep getting back up and fighting, is one thing. To do so and also have the success that he had in Chicago, though, is entirely different. He was a legitimate contributor for those offenses to the point that nobody would’ve been able to tell that he missed three entire seasons due to separate injuries.
After football, Miller is now a country singer who often performs around the Chicago area. He’s found passion in his music and family, and he appears to be doing well in retirement. It’s satisfying to see, especially given everything he went through in his playing career.
It helps that Miller was a good football player who came out of nowhere, especially on some bad Bears teams that didn’t have much to be excited about. But considering how unique his journey into the NFL was and all the trials and tribulations he went through when he was in the league, he has to be my favorite Bears tight end of all time.
Now it’s your turn. Who is your favorite tight end in Bears history? Sound off in the comments below.
